


i feel that ice is slowly melting

by sonlali



Series: Cuddling Ficlets [12]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Family Feels, Gen, Huddling For Warmth, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonlali/pseuds/sonlali
Summary: the heating system goes out at the motel during the night and the roses are forced to share blankets and conversation.
Relationships: Alexis Rose & David Rose, Johnny Rose/Moira Rose, Rose Family - Relationship
Series: Cuddling Ficlets [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614172
Comments: 28
Kudos: 74





	i feel that ice is slowly melting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoubleL27](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoubleL27/gifts).



> prompt fill for doublel27 from [this cuddling prompt list.](https://language-of-love.tumblr.com/post/190450918007/cuddling-prompts-send-me-a-and-ill-write-a) thanks for the prompt!
> 
> 6\. For warmth
> 
> thank you LL for the prompt and for your generous "dealer's choice" request for the pairing. the rose family as a whole probably wasn't what you were imagining, but hopefully you still enjoy! sorry this took approximately seventeen lifetimes to write, but my brain hasn't been wanting to make words lately. <3
> 
> title from "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles

David jolts awake with the sudden realization that his entire body is shivering. He blinks the sleep from his eyes and attempts to determine if this is a very uncomfortable dream or if he has actually awakened inside an ice cave. It wouldn’t be the first time, but since living in Schitt’s Creek, David has reliably awakened in his own bed more often than not, and besides, that time in Iceland was _not_ actually his fault. 

Reasonably convinced that he is in fact awake and in his tiny, uncomfortable bed at the motel, David slaps his hand out toward the nightstand to fumble for his phone. The lockscreen reads 3:52 a.m. _Why the fuck am I awake and why the fuck is it so fucking cold in here?_ David rages internally — and perhaps a little externally because Alexis wakes up with a groggy _Shush, David!_

“Why is it fucking freezing in here?!” David shouts, and Alexis flings one of her pillows across the room with a shriek. Her aim is alarmingly accurate considering her face is still buried in another pillow. The pillow hits David square in the chest and he launches it back at her as he untangles himself from his bedsheets. 

David pulls on his uggs and wraps his arms around himself with another shiver. Alexis’ face emerges from beneath a nest of bedhead and she glares accusatorily at David. 

“Ugh, David! Why did you have to wake me up?!”

“Because it’s fucking freezing!” he shouts back.

“Yeah, but I didn’t notice that when I was asleep!”

“Then go the fuck back to sleep, Alexis!”

“I can’t go back to sleep _now_ , David! It’s too cold!”

“Kids!” Their father's voice calls out from the adjoining room followed immediately by him opening the door. He enters their room wearing a fluffy bathrobe over his ridiculous nightgown and a truly hideous pair of slippers. “Well, kids, it looks like the motel’s heating system is, uh, well, it’s a bit on the fritz right now.”

“Yeah, mhm, okay, Ebenezer, we were actually able to figure that out ourselves, thanks.” David rolls his eyes and heads toward his cedar chest to find a warm sweater. 

“I tried calling for a repairman, but no one would pick up at the number Stevie left at the front desk, and I tried calling Stevie—”

“Yeah, you absolutely will _not_ be getting ahold of Stevie at this hour,” David interjects.

“So, I tried another number I found, but somehow I got Ray, and he said… well, he said a lot of things. Did you know that he is actually starting a new business for—” 

“Ahh, Dad!” Alexis yells and flails a hand impatiently.

“Right, yes, of course, as I was saying—” Their father rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet a few times and gives a weak smile. “Well, what it comes down to is that we definitely aren’t getting the heater fixed tonight, but hopefully we can get someone out here tomorrow.”

“What?!” David and Alexis shout simultaneously. 

“Well, I, uh, there’s just nothing to be done, kids. But we can tough it out for one night, don’t you think? It might even be fun! Like a… like a camping trip maybe.”

David opens his mouth furiously, but their father backs out of the adjoining door with a vague, _"Going to check on the other guests."_ David pulls his pajama top over his head and replaces it with his thickest, warmest sweater. He’s folding his sleep shirt carefully when he’s interrupted by a finger prodding his shoulder. 

“Um, David? Where’s mine?” 

“Your what?” David snaps, not turning around. He’s looking for a toque and is really not in the mood to deal with Alexis right now. She keeps poking him. “Stop poking me with your fucking bony fingers!”

“Rude, David! Just because I don’t have sausage fingers like you—!” 

“Ugh! What do you want?!” David finally locates his toque and sends a silent apology to his hair, which has been looking fantastic lately and really doesn’t deserve to be smashed down in a hat. 

“Where’s my sweater?” Alexis asks impatiently.

“Why would I have your sweater?” David spins around to glare at Alexis who is rolling her eyes dramatically. 

“I need to borrow one of yours _obviously_ , David, oh my god!” 

“Why would I let you borrow one of my sweaters?” David takes a step closer to his cedar chest, protecting his knitwear from Alexis. 

“Because it’s freezing, David! Duh!”

“So? Wear your own clothes.” David crosses his arms across his chest and continues scowling. 

“Okay, but, David? You have, like, a billion sweaters, and my wardrobe is really more suited for a more tropical climate, like very beachy and warm.”

“Mm, well, that sounds like your problem. You should be more prepared.”

“Ugh! It’s barely ever cold here, though! It wasn’t even cold yesterday. This just, like, came out of nowhere, so why would I be prepared? And you can’t just let me _freeze_ , David!” She pokes him in the chest for emphasis and probably leaves a fucking bruise because her fingers definitely _are_ bony. 

“Fine!” David turns back to his cedar chest and attempts to choose which of his children to send to their death. Alexis clicks her tongue impatiently, so David selects one just to shut her up. “Here! Now get out of my face.”

“Ew, no, David, not this one.”

“Fine, then freeze!” David reaches for the sweater, but Alexis steps backward taking it with her.

“You’re such a drama queen, David.” Alexis pulls the sweater over her head with all the gentle touch of a rhinoceros and David feels a stab of sympathy pain for his beautiful knitwear. “Okay, so we’ll have to share your duvet, David, because it’s warmer than the motel’s.”

“We’re not sharing– you can’t– I’m not–” David can feel a vein twitching in his eyelid and he’s so outraged he can’t complete a thought. Alexis tugs at the duvet on David’s bed and David tugs back on instinct until he realizes what he’s doing and howls with rage. “You’re going to tear the fabric, Alexis!” 

Alexis opens her mouth to argue when their mother’s voice rings out from the adjoining room. 

“Daaaa-vid! A _lex_ is! Come say your goodbyes to your dear mummy on her deathbed of ice.” 

David takes advantage of Alexis’ divided attention and yanks the duvet off the bed entirely, draping it around his shoulders like a cape and stomping off to their parents’ room. Alexis runs after him with a screech. 

Their mother has the blankets pulled up to her chin and is wearing a balaclava wrapped around her head. She moans pitifully and waves a gloved hand at David and Alexis to gesture them closer to the bed. David squints suspiciously and takes a half step forward. Alexis elbows her way under the duvet so that it’s wrapped around them both. 

“David, Alexis, my progeny, I am not long for this world. In but a flutter of one’s palpebrae, I shall be fully entombed in a sheet of ice. I need to say my final farewell to my dear babies. David, you will be in charge after my departure. I will entrust you with the responsibility of caring for the girls. Now, I’ll need a moment alone with Lizette and Robin if you could bring them to me, David.”

David rolls his eyes and is about to retreat to his room when the motel door swings open with the return of their father. 

“Good news!” he calls out, far more cheerfully than this situation could possibly call for. “I found some blankets in the laundry room. I passed out one to each of our guests, and everyone seems to be in fairly high spirits considering, well, uh, the current situation. And there was one left over, so I brought it back for us!”

“One?!” Alexis shouts.

“What is this — a Dickensian slum?!” David bellows. “What is the point in you co-running this motel if you aren’t going to take first dibs of the sparse amenities available?”

“Now, David, we have to take care of the paying guests first and make sure they’re comfortable. We can share this blanket.” Johnny moves forward, spreading the moth-eaten blanket over the bed. Ordinarily, David wouldn’t touch that monstrosity with a ten foot pole, but the room seems to be getting steadily colder. 

“Um, Dad? Where are we supposed to go?” David supposes he should feel grateful that Alexis remembered to include him, but then again, she’s probably just thinking about his duvet, which she is definitely hogging more than half of. 

Johnny crawls under the covers of the bed next to Moira, who is in the process of wrapping a wig around her neck like a scarf. 

“Well, you’re more than welcome to grab a seat right here, uh, right here on the end of the bed.” He draws his legs up slightly like it’s an extraordinary act of generosity, while their mother resolutely ignores the room at large. 

David is considering taking the car to Stevie’s and pounding on her door until she answers, but there’s about an 87 percent chance that she would just shrug and force him to stay outside. He’s weighing those odds when Alexis sits down on their father’s side of the bed, crossing her legs like she’s about to take a yoga class, rather than curling up at the foot of their parents’ bed like a fucking dog. 

She’s still clutching David’s duvet around her shoulders with her grubby hands, so David is forced to follow. He drops gingerly onto the bed next to Alexis, careful not to sit on their mother’s feet. Moira still hasn’t made any attempt to make room for David and Alexis to sit, but she has now started humming under her breath something that sounds suspiciously like _Nearer My God To Thee._ David rolls his eyes and carefully arranges the blanket across his and Alexis’ laps as best as he can considering their father is surreptitiously tugging it back up to his chin. 

Alexis turns to David and wraps his duvet tighter around his shoulder so that somehow both of their bodies are mostly covered. He’s now sitting uncomfortably close to his sister to allow for this, but at least he’s marginally warmer. Alexis smiles sunnily and boops David on the nose and David has to bite back a reluctant smile. 

“See, now, isn’t this cozy?” Johnny claps his hands together in a gesture that reminds David of the Christmas party where Alexis brought two dates who started fighting during _The Number_ and somehow managed to destroy three ice sculptures, two chandeliers, and a blown glass partridge in a pear tree. Their mother had smashed her wine glass to the floor with a shriek — and David’s glass too for good measure — and stormed off to shut herself in a coat closet where she revealed David’s boyfriend fucking his ex while dressed as one of Santa’s elves. Their father had clapped his hands together with a smile and said, “Well, now, this is another Christmas for the books, don’t you think?” 

David scowls at his father and looks to Alexis for commiseration. The unspoken sibling rule is to argue with one another, but when faced with their parents, they must always table any arguments to align in their mutual irritation. Sure enough, Alexis flutters her eyelids in an approximation of a wink and pokes at their father’s shin through the layers of blankets. 

“Remember that winter when David was in Paris and all the blankets in the house kept disappearing? It was David who was taking the blankets. He was in the house the whole time.” Alexis shoots David a wicked smile and tugs the duvet until it barely covers David at all. David shivers at the sudden exposure to the room’s chill and splutters indignantly at Alexis. This is precisely the _opposite_ of the unspoken sibling rule. 

“It was really cold,” he mumbles feebly. 

“David!” Johnny scolds. “Your mother nearly fired the housekeeper for losing all those blankets!”

“Mkay, well, that says more about the way you treated staff than about me.” David sniffs. 

“You _begged_ for us to buy you tickets to Paris, David. And the chateau!”

“Okay, I don’t remember any begging…” David hedges.

“Ooh, there was definitely begging, David.” Alexis bumps a shoulder against David’s and grins mischievously. 

“Son, that chateau was very expensive to rent out for the entire winter.” His father frowns, eyebrows furrowing in an expression very familiar to David as the _I’m very disappointed in you, son_ look. 

“Mm, _alright_. As if you didn’t drop that much money regularly without a second thought, and it’s not like it would have somehow prevented the government from taking all of our money anyway. And!” David yanks the duvet back from Alexis with a growl. “That was _years_ ago, so.” 

“Well, I suppose– I mean, it’s more that– well, honesty and integrity…” Johnny glances to Moira as if hoping she would save him from his blustering, but she simply moans miserably and adjusts the balaclava to cover her face more thoroughly. “You seemed so eager to visit Paris, son.”

In truth, David had been planning to spend the winter with his girlfriend, who decided the night before their flight that she would much rather visit Paris with David’s French tutor instead. David had been heartbroken and humiliated and couldn’t stand the thought of staying at the gorgeous chateau alone. 

“Anyway,” David cuts swiftly through his father’s ramblings, sidestepping any explanations for his sudden change in plans. “I gave the ticket to Alexis, so it’s not like it went to waste.”

“Oh, well, that’s actually a funny story.” Alexis twirls a strand of hair, her eyes cutting swiftly away from their parents. “I _did_ take David’s ticket, but at the airport I met the _sweetest_ little German boy and so I ended up going to Berlin instead.”

“Alexis!” Their father begins sputtering again, his eyebrows soaring through a rollercoaster of emotions. “But you were– I thought– You were 14 years old!”

“Thirteen.” David chimes in helpfully.

“You were home for Hanukkah, though.”

“Um, no, I wasn’t.” Alexis flips her hair over one shoulder. 

“You were definitely there, Alexis,” their father protests, but David has had enough of this. 

“You know what, forget it! I’m taking my duvet, and I’m going back to bed. I’d rather freeze alone!” He snatches the duvet from around Alexis’ shoulders and stomps from the room with his father and sister shouting after him. David slams the adjoining door shut and dives face-first onto his bed, pulling the duvet up over his head to muffle his family’s voices. 

Why did Alexis always have to stir shit up anyway? If she just kept her big mouth shut for once, he could have stayed in his parents’ room where it was marginally warmer. David punches at his pillow angrily and thinks about that winter spent hiding in the east wing of his parents’ mansion, sneaking blankets from the laundry room so he could cocoon in bed and cry. 

He had really liked Angelica and had spent days planning their Paris trip, making careful lists of the best restaurants to take her and galleries she would enjoy visiting. When he called Angelica to confirm their flight details, she had completely dismissed David. She said she’d rather visit Paris with a boyfriend, and when David protested that he thought he was her boyfriend, there was only pity in her voice as she said, “Oh, sweetie, no. We’re better as friends. That’s all we ever were, you know that, right?”

David had quickly realized that he didn’t actually need to put much effort into sneaking around the house; his parents probably wouldn’t have noticed even if he barged into one of their dinner parties dressed in last season’s Neil Barrett. The only absence they noted was that of the plush, cashmere throws. 

David hears the door creak open and then close with a quiet snap. He sighs at the sound of soft footsteps approaching his bed. 

“What, Alexis?”

“Um, nothing, it’s just… Dad keeps poking me in the shin with his gross, sharp toenails. It’s tragic how badly he needs a pedicure, by the way. And then Mom started humming a funeral march, and I, um…” 

David can imagine his sister’s nose crinkled up in disgust, one hand twisting her hair while the other twirls limply at the wrist. He lifts the edge of his duvet silently and rolls over to his side facing away from Alexis. She climbs in the bed and he feels the warmth from her body as she curls up beside him. 

“Thanks, David,” Alexis chirps. David just grunts in response. “Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have brought up the Paris story. I thought it was funny, David!”

“Yeah, really funny.” David snorts irritably. “How did you even know about the blankets? Since you were busy gallivanting around Berlin.”

“Renato told me when I got back to the house.”

“Renato— the gardener?” David asks and Alexis hums an affirmative.

“He said you had been moping around the house for weeks, stealing blankets from the laundry and hiding from everyone. He thought there was a ghost in the house at first when he saw you skulking down the hall with a blanket trailing along behind you.” There’s laughter in Alexis’ voice and she pokes teasingly at David’s back.

“Oh my _god_ , Alexis! There was not any moping and certainly no _skulking_. Ugh!”

“Whatever, David. I had an amazing winter and you cried in bed for weeks, so.” 

“Well, I had several weeks away from you and Mom and Dad, so I had a pretty good time too,” David snaps. 

“Ugh, David!” Alexis swats at David’s arm and huffs loudly. They lie under the covers without speaking for several seconds, but Alexis can never stand the silence. “Remember the year Dad tried to teach us about Hanukkah?” 

David bites his lower lip to fight back a smile. “You cried and demanded to know why Santa hated the Jews and threw a dreidel at Dad.”

“Ugh, David! I was only five years old! Anyway, you ate so many matzo balls you vomited all over Dad’s shoes.”

“And Mom got drunk and started singing _Silent Night_ at the top of her voice.” David’s reluctant smile breaks into a snort of laughter as he remembers the look on their father’s face. He rolls over to face Alexis who is shaking with laughter, tears shining in her eyes. David pulls the blanket up over both of their heads, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjust to the darkness. He can just barely make out his sister’s features, her eyes crinkled up in joy, lips curled up in a wide smile. 

“Remember when Adelina built blanket forts for us?” Alexis whispers when she finally catches her breath. 

David isn’t sure why she is whispering, but it reminds him of when they were really young and would stay up late talking and giggling. David used to make up ghost stories, delighting in how Alexis would gasp dramatically, her eyes wide and attentive. He reveled in the way he could capture his whirling dervish of a sister’s attention on those nights, curled up under the covers when they should have been sleeping. When Adelina found out about the nightmares Alexis was having, she put a stop to these late night stories, chastising David for frightening his little sister.

Adelina started making them blanket forts after that. She would sit in a chair beside the fort and read to them or tell stories about Portugal. Alexis could usually only sit still for a few minutes at a time before running off, but David always enjoyed their time in the fort. 

“Remember the time Mom came in to tell Adelina something and didn’t even notice we were in the room?” David whispers back. “She just thought Adelina was folding the laundry.”

This starts them both off into another peal of laughter so raucous that David doesn’t hear their father enter the room. 

“Kids?” Johnny sounds confused. David and Alexis poke their heads out from under the covers. “Oh, well, there you are. Your mother and I… Moira, sweetheart—”

Their mother glides into the room with a lavish fur coat worn over her pajamas. On her shoulders, the horrible, mothworn blanket trailing behind her manages to look like the train to a designer gown. She swans over to Alexis’ bed and drapes herself across it dramatically like a Victorian lady overcome with a case of the vapors. 

Their father clears his throat and seems to struggle to regain his train of thought. “Yes, well, your mother and I– when you left, we– you know, kids—”

“Your absence from the domicile was registered and left a lingering note of melancholia in the atmosphere.” 

“Uh, yes, yes, that’s exactly right, dear.” Their father smooths a hand down the front of his bathrobe much the way he adjusts his tie when faced with an uncomfortable conversation. David rolls his eyes, but Johnny forges on. “Which is to say, uh, we — your mother and I — well, when you left the room, we missed you.”

“So we have selected to vacate the frigorific tundra of our chambers and expose our bodies — and our hearts — to the merciless elements and join our brood on your sinking ship as you careen rapidly to a hypothermic oblivion.” Moira pulls the covers on Alexis’ bed up to her chin and waves a gloved hand theatrically at their father until he drapes the horrible moth-eaten blanket over her. 

“Aw, isn’t that just the sweetest thing?!” Alexis chirps, smacking David’s arm for emphasis. “They wanted to be with us, David!” 

David squints suspiciously at his parents, his gaze sliding first to his father’s eager expression, all wide eyes and knitted brows, then to his mother’s smoothly impassive features, barely visible beneath layers of fabric and wig hair. As their eyes meet, the corners of her mouth curve upward in a barely perceptible smile. David exhales heavily and flops onto his back, dislodging Alexis from where she has been perched peering over his shoulder at their parents. 

Seemingly interpreting this as a positive response, their father claps his hands together brightly and moves around to the other side of Alexis’ bed, burrowing under the covers beside their mother and flashing David and Alexis a broad smile. 

“Remember the cabin we stayed at when we went skiing in Zermatt?” Johnny asks.

“Oh my, GOD! Ew, Dad!” Alexis shrieks. “Why would you bring up your and Mom’s sex cabin?!”

“What? No! That’s not– kids!” Their father splutters. 

“Oh my, _god_!” David groans, pulling at his toque until it covers his ears entirely, wishing he could crawl inside it completely and escape this moment. 

“David! Alexis! We have discussed this previously. I refuse to be shamed for participating in a sedulous and perfervid sex life with your father! To act on one’s concupiscent feelings with a spouse—”

“Oh god, no! Stop!” Alexis and David shout in unison, Alexis clapping her hands over her ears and David burying his head underneath a pillow. 

“No, no, that’s not even–” Johnny massages his temple and heaves a sigh. “That was in Vale! I meant the cabin in Zermatt. In Switzerland?”

“We’re all aware of where Zermatt is, John.” 

“The cabin in Zermatt that we stayed at when you were kids.” Their father raises his voice in an attempt to regain control of the conversation. Alexis stops shrieking, but David remains safely ensconced under his pillow. It’s warmer under here anyway. “You were probably only about 8 and 12. There was a tremendous blizzard and we had to stay inside, off the slopes. We all huddled around the fireplace.”

“You told us stories about when you met and your first dates,” Alexis chimes in.

“I regaled you with stories from my early days as a sprightly budding actress and singer.” Their mother raises herself to a seated position, abruptly more interested in the discussion. 

“Yes! Yes, you two were very entertained with our stories. I remember telling you all about how I started Rose Video.” Enthusiasm fills their father's voice. 

“And Mom taught us the steps to the choreography for that off-off-Broadway play she did called…” Alexis trails off, tapping her fingers along David’s shoulder as she thinks.

“ _Merrily We Glow Along_ ,” David mumbles from beneath his pillow. 

“ _Oh my god_ , yes, David! That was it!” Alexis bounces excitedly, shaking the bed. 

“Ah, of course!” Their mother nods, pulling off her balaclava because when it comes to fondly reminiscing about her own triumphs, Moira Rose is not one to hide her face. The chill of the unheated motel room does not stand a chance against the glow of their mother’s nostalgia. “I played radioactive news anchor, Cher Nobyl, who stole the show, naturally.”

“We had hot chocolate.” David reluctantly peeks out from beneath his warm cocoon. “Really delicious, enormous mugs of hot chocolate.”

“Ooh, and with, like, a thousand of those cute little mini marshmallows!” Alexis curls her hands toward her chest and shimmies her shoulders. David bites his cheek to keep from smiling and rises to a seated position. 

Johnny wraps an arm around Moira’s shoulders and beams indulgently as she begins belting the lyrics to _Rad, Rad Radiation_. Alexis loops her arm through David’s and knocks their shoulders together, her face split open in a wide grin. David takes in his sister’s eye-crinkling smile, the messy tendrils of hair curling around her face, David’s own sweater enveloping her small frame, hanging loosely off one shoulder to reveal her pajama top. Suddenly, she looks so young and unguarded. He half expects her to grab his hand and tug him off the bed, to shout for her big brother to come play with her, to set off on some new adventure. 

Alexis cuddles closer and rests her head on David’s shoulder. He hides a smile in her hair and glances back at their parents. Their mother is very clearly in her element. She has swung her legs over the edge of the bed — completely disregarding the chill of the room — to reenact the closing number, _Infrared Hot Love_. 

Their father has draped a blanket around Moira’s shoulders like a cheap, polyester cloak, one arm curling affectionately around her waist. Periodically, he interjects with random anecdotes from the family’s stay at that cozy Swiss cabin, seemingly torn between indulging Moira’s love for reliving her glory days and redirecting the conversation back to fond family memories. David can’t actually remember most of the stories his father is referring to, and he suspects the same of Alexis, but he feels a flicker of warmth in his chest for the way his father is trying. 

Johnny was absent for most of David and Alexis’ childhood and young adult lives, but right now he is trying to bring the family together for this one night. He is trying to ease the pain of so many years apart, to give them this one night together sheltering from the cold within the arms of a family unit. It’s not much, and it doesn’t make up for the years their family spent tethered together only by a thread spun largely from animosity, but he _is_ trying and David feels a twinge of gratitude for the heater going out tonight and giving them this time together. 

David looks around the room — at his parents cuddled together, their faces bright and open, and at his sister snuggled against his side, joy and laughter dancing in her eyes — and he realizes that the room doesn’t feel nearly as cold anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr [@landofsonlali](https://landofsonlali.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
